Louboutin sues YSL for `copying` trademark

London: Hollywood`s favourite shoemaker Christian Loubotin has sued fashion house Yves Saint Laurent, for "copying" his trademark red sole. The French shoemaker is suing YSL in a New York City court, claiming that the label is "unjustly" copying his trademark motif, reported Daily Mail online.

Court papers filed on Thursday state that Louboutin came up with the idea in 1992 after painting red nail polish on the black soles of a pair of women`s shoes. The papers go on to talk of the ubiquity of Louboutin heels, which cost up to USD 1000 a pair, citing their popularity with celebrities including Sarah Jessica Parker, Scarlett Johansson and Halle Berry. Louboutin charges that this year, Yves Saint Laurent started selling its own version of the red soled shoe in several upmarket New York stores, including Barney`s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. "The Red Sole has become synonymous with Christian Louboutin and high fashion," before adding that Louboutin had trademarked the design in the United States in 2008. The suit continues, "The defendants use of red footwear outsoles that are virtually identical to plaintiff`s Red Sole Mark is likely to cause and is causing confusion, mistake and deception among the relevant purchasing public as to the origin of the infringing footwear." PTI